Page 15 of The Billionairess
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After a late lunchon the shore and being driven back to the Jeep, Selena was wiped out. As soon as they arrived at the campground, she indicated that she was going to take a nap. She had wondered if Hunter would offer to join her, but he indicated that he was going to work on getting the campfiregoing.
Selena never napped, except apparently when Hunter was around. Slipping into the crisp, cool sheets on her luxurious bed in the camper felt divine. Deciding that the fresh air and stress of believing she was nearly drowning had likely zapped her energy, she dozed off and power napped for an hour. She awoke feeling refreshed andrejuvenated.
When she emerged from her camper, she was delighted to see that Hunter had the campfire blazing and that several of their fellow rafters from today’s excursion were already gathered around it. They welcomed her into the circle around the fire as if she were an old friend, not someone that they had just mettoday.
The immediate camaraderie of the group surprised her, considering they had only known each other for one day. She supposed that risking their lives together in that floating raft of death must have bonded them, even though she didn’t know most of their names. Deciding this fellowship was a good thing and opting not to question it, she stood near the fire and tried her best to fitin.
She quickly learned that Mike was the name of the loudmouth of the group, who liked to tease her. He was the only one that had ribbed her about falling off the raft this afternoon. He had also ridiculed her for looking so scared in the water. “Decided to come out of the royal bus and join the little people?” He used a high-pitched tone with a terrible attempt at an English accent and added a mock bow to accentuate his snarkyquestion.
Normally, she would have nodded her head, given him a fake smile, and hoped that he would stop drawing attention to her wealth. Since she had noticed that the entire group seemed to enjoy dishing it right back out at Mike, she opted to be bold in her response. “I noticed that you don’t mind sitting beside the ‘royal bus’ enjoying my view and campingequipment.”
It was silent for a beat and she wondered if she had just committed social suicide. She knew that many people struggled financially and the last thing she wanted to do was rub her money in their faces. Just as she was silently cursing herself for being so socially awkward, Mike tipped his head back and bellowed with laughter. His guffawing was so contagious that the rest of the group chuckled along withhim.
“You got that right, Lady. I’d put up with a lot to enjoy this view.” Mike swept his hands out to indicate the pristine, undeveloped lakeshore in front of them. “Since this eyesore,” he thumbed her RV, “Is blocking my view, I guess I have to be nice to you.” He verified his words by unfolding a lawn chair and placing it near the fire forher.
She sat down, thanked him, and let herself be absorbed into the fun-loving group. When she locked gazes with Hunter, she couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were sparkling with a tantalizing mixture of approval and desire. If she lived to be one-hundred-and-ten years old, she would never get enough of that look fromhim.
When they started getting hungry, Selena was impressed with how the group pulled together to provide what they could for dinner. She brought out the colorful melamine plates and utensils that she found in her kitchen, as well as hot dogs, buns, numerous condiments, and the large fresh fruit salad she discovered in the RV’s well-stockedrefrigerator.
The others returned from their campsites carrying various bags of chips, s’more ingredients, and beverages. It was a hodge-podge meal, but everyone contributed something. Selena didn’t know of a gourmet restaurant that could put on a betterspread.
They used long metal skewers to cook the hotdogs over the campfire. Selena watched the others and copied their movements as she twirled her hotdog near the glowing embers, trying to brown it evenly. Once she was satisfied with it, she slid it onto a bun, doctored it up with mustard and relish, and loaded her plate withsides.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had cooked herself a meal, and she had to admit that it was somewhat rewarding to know that she had made this delicious-smelling hotdog on her own, except the for the tiny detail of starting thefire.
When she took the first bite of her creation, she practically groaned with delight. The hotdog was crispy on the outside, while still managing to be hot and juicy on the inside. It was absoluteperfection.
Hunter hadn’t yet taken a bite of his food because he seemed to be enjoying watching Selena eat hers. He leaned in close to her ear so the others couldn’t hear and discreetly asked, “Has it been a while since you’ve had ahotdog?”
“Ages,” she practically moaned, before adding, “I didn’t remember them being thisdelicious.”
“The campfire helps bring out the flavor,” he grinned at her before digging into his ownhotdog.
After working her way through a pile of Doritos, a smattering of Cheetos, and a handful of Bugles filled with squeeze cheese, Selena said, “I had no idea that cheese-adjacent foods could be sodelectable.”
This comment made the entire group around the fire chuckle. Mike adopted his silly, fake accent again when he said, “They don’t serve a lot of cheese dust coated chips at the country club, dothey?”
Feeling comfortable and accepted, Selena responded, “I wouldn’t know. They don’t allow my helicopter to land at the club, so I stopped going.” She was only partiallykidding.
It was silent for a moment while the group absorbed what she had said. Once more, she wondered if she had gone too far. She didn’t want to hide who she was, but she hated to flaunt her wealth. Hunter saved her by saying, “Don’t you hate it when that happens? Or how about when the marina doesn’t have a boat slip that’s big enough for your super yacht?Ugh!”
His over-dramatic rendition of real-life problems faced by the one percent was just the icebreaker the group needed. Everyone started laughing and tossing out what they imagined to be the issues of the super-rich.
Everything from having too far of a walk from the valet stand, to not being able to see the little people from the penthouse were brought up as potential problems. Seeing her moment, Selena raised a dramatic hand to her throat. “You may joke about it, but you have no idea how difficult it really is when your personal chef asks to take a few days off to get married. It’shorrifying!”
Her over-the-top performance had them all in stitches as they toasted marshmallows for s’mores. Hunter had a kettle of water heating on a tripod over the fire. With impeccable timing, he poured everyone mugs of hot cocoa with a splash of Peppermint Schnapps, just as the gooey marshmallows were perfectly goldenbrown.
Selena stirred her hot chocolate as she waited for her s’more to cool enough to eat. By the time she took her first bite, the chocolate bar had melted down onto the toasted marshmallow. The graham cracker crust gave the gooey treat the perfect amount of crunch. Deciding this was the most delicious dessert she had ever tasted, Selena let the ecstatic groan escape from her throat as she savored the first delectablebite.
She hadn’t realized what a spectacle she was making of herself, until she saw everyone staring at her. She immediately felt silly for going so gaga over a simple sweet treat. Hunter once again diffused the tension by joking, “In my next life, I want to come back as thats’more.”
From that point on, the evening was relaxed and fun. Selena felt accepted and was able to begin to enjoy just hanging out and being her true self with people who were practically strangers. They told stories and laughed and even sang a song or two. It was the perfect, fun-filled night in nature until the giant drops of rain began tofall.
They all scrambled to pick up their belongings and head back to their tents before they got drenched. Selena held some plates over her head to protect herself from the sheets of rain that were now falling as she stood on the steps of her RV. “It’s nice and dry in here,” sheoffered.
Everyone froze in their spots, debating whether they should stick to their guns and rough it in their beloved tents, or join Selena in the blasted bus that they loved to ridicule. It didn’t take long to decide. Everyone scurried inside her safe, dry RV. She smiled when she handed out big, fluffy towels to thegroup.
